Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-01-12
THE LAND OF THE CZAR.
An Interesting Description of DeTas
Barnes Journey in Russia

4
inaptly be compared to a great bee
hive, with walls so thick that to out
siders sound Is seldom heard, while
within is an intensely active popala-
tion, whose occupation is not merely to
gather pollen from Cossack roses on
their own vast plains, but whose PIN
ions are capable OF flying from the
Black Sea on the south to the Arctic
Ocean on the rth, and from the
German Empire in the west of Europe
to Behring Straits of Eastern Asia.
Neither is the imperial stomach gorged
by swallowing small provinces on her
own borders, but she gulps down, ap-
| parently without discomfort, whole
nations, like Poland, Turkestsn and
Finlan1, AM now, judging from ap-
pearances, she is about to estal lish
herself on the Persian Gulf. 4 Gordon
OF sentinels guard her frontier a. every
point, and celsOrs control the press,
| inspect kilograms. and overhaul the
mails. The guage of railroad tracks
IL broken at the frontier towns, so that
no car or its commodities can enter or
leave the territory without scru ly.
/ Even her language is a bar to inter-
course. The Russian alphabet con-
tains thirty-six characters, partly Roman
and partly compost. Seeing my own
name written in Russian L could not
read It. The multiplied yowels and Pc
culiar cOnsonant sounds effectually
prevent a foreigner from understand
ing word when pronounced, and it is
impossible for foreigner TO inquire for
person, town, street, or number-a
bad pace to be lost In. The Russian
dictionary contains over 10000 words.
l Poetry is such a diluted language
would seem to lackIlhat epyrammatin'c C
terseness which Is essential to convey
/ force aud emphasis. To describe such
people under such conditions and at
a single sitting Is impossible. 1t would
require local residence for years and
the entire space Of twenty newspapers
! to convey anything like an adequate
idea of the Russian Empire-the cOun-
try and its people, to say nothing of its
/ history.
| eI tered Russia from the north. 1t
would have made no difference had it
/ been from the east. the south OF the
west. Russia is fortified on al sides,
not alone by fortresses and guns, but by
a secret espionage which, without be-
| ing able t. locate or describe, is felt,
and one insenslbly proceeds WITH
caution. One is not permitted to leave
!. car or boat or TO enter hote!, or
again leave city, without showing a
passport and having it duly indorsed.
CronStadt IS the seaward sentinel Of
st. Petersburg, Seven Islands in the
| middle OF a wide. shallow bay, the
I islands covered by immense forts, and
/ the channel to be travsrsed by vessels
| winding between them, create an in-
/ preston that this Is not one of RuSsia'S
/ weak points. Indeed, one look INTO the
I throats Of those frowning guns conveys
an idea OF impregnability. The next
impression Of strength made upon my
mind was by the extent Of Russia'S
wheat fields. IL has so happened that
followed the harvesting of cereals
through Belgium, Denmark, Sweden,
and parts OF Russia. From the English
Channel to the Ural mountains, and, |
understand, far beyond them, IL seemed
to be q nearly unbrOken field Of yellow
grain. America has no longer corner
on wheat. The average crop of the
United States Is about twelve bushels
per acre. II Russia, by reason OF poor,
farming, ave ages eight bushels per acre,
size Can, | think, owing to the cheap
ness OF her land and labor, undersell us
Apparently, size has enough wheat har-i
vested this year to feed the entire,
world.
st. Petersburg may we'll be styled the
Magnificent City Of the Nevs. Its
streets are broad, buildings massive,
parks numerous, museums interesting,
and its monuments grand. have en-
deayored to refrain from giving space
for reference to pictures. statuary,
churches, architecture and art, which
most travellers describe with minuteness.
But part of the charm and bloom of
eastern countries would be wanting
were the esthetic wholly eliminated
from what / say,
In front of the Hermitage Museum
at y. Petersburg are ten monolith ST.
berian marble statues supporting the
portico, each one of which is fifteen feet
high, fully developing in the most ideal
manner Herculean strength. In this
great depository Of national wealth,
among many other things is a solid jas
per vase. ten feet broad, sixteen feet
long and about nine feet high. st.
Isaac's Cathedral has four equal fronts
In the form of cross. At each of the
facades project great porticos supported
seven feet III diameter and sixty feet
high-sixty-four in all. Sublimely
beautiful and in effect upon the mind,
not unlike that produced by view of
the Egyptian pyramids.
The River Neva Is here about half
mile wide. 1t is crossed by ten bridges,
lighted by gas or electricity. SeeS in
the evening, with miles of simrial lights
reflected in the water from the auays
made busy by hurrying crowds of men,
women and vehicles, the sight Is one of
exceptional beauty. Driving in the
streets of st. Petersburg is something
to be remembered. The private car
riages are fine barouches, quite like our
own, and generally drawn by black
Tartarian or Bulgarian stallion horses.
These animals have long names aud
tails and are driven at rate of speed
that would make the Commissioners of
Central Park stare and clear the con-
course Of people in short time. The
drosky is small four-wheeled, one
horse carriage, very low in the body,
seating two passengers, and a driver Ii,
front. AL drivers wear long surtout
coats reaching to their feet, plated over
the hips and hustled behind. The cap
is low, broad on top, with carved
rim, exactly like that of a gentleman's
stovepipe hat. Around the top of the
hat are attached several small quIlls or
feathers, in numbers according to the ,,
Cossaek or provincial rank of the driver.
The harness Is made of very small PIE
ces Of strong leather. 1t is attached
to the carriage or wagon by double ira
ces, one to the whifllstree, and one at
the end of the axletree outside of the
hub-an extra precaution against acci-
Ients. Over the horses shoulders and
his collar is raised an ornamental OK
bow, about twenty inches in height
Within ard on this bow a,e arranged
pretty tassels and small bells. In Mos
L